Experts say Americans barbecued 2.7 billion times last year. Of course they also said they knew where the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade was. When something is this popular, people are always going to want the latest, greatest, and best. Remember a few years ago when plain old charcoal briquettes weren't good enough? First they made them so they'd light without starter fluid, which is no fun since that way the flames don't singe the bottom of the roof overhang. Then they started flavoring them. The next thing you know there will be charcoal briquettes in an array of fabulous designer colors. These mortgageable grills come in stainless steel, have designer paint jobs, feature side and bottom shelves, and have more features than the average kitchen range. And yes, they still do basically the same thing a pile of sticks will do. The biggest trend, though, was wood smoking. In a fit of mass hysteria not seen since people started mistaking Beanie Babies for a retirement fund, pyromaniacal adults started throwing wood chips on their fires to give dinner that special, smoky, burning-down-the-house taste. Hickory, mesquite, and applewood came and went. Backyards became hazier than Mexico City, which is saying a lot since breathing the air there for a day is supposedly equivalent to smoking three packs of unfiltered cigarettes. Once we went through all the flammable hardwoods indigenous to North America short of salt-treated lumber and telephone poles, there was nowhere to go in the world of barbecues than to make the equipment bigger. This is what's known as "a man thing." Where a few years ago the average grill cost between $100 and $300, now the price has jumped as high as $4,000. These mortgageable grills come in stainless steel, have designer paint jobs, feature side and bottom shelves, and have more features than the average kitchen range. And yes, they still do basically the same thing a pile of sticks will do. The question is: Does a $4,000 deluxe grill cook food any better than the $10 Hibachi you get at the drug store or the $30 kettle grill that's half-rusted on the back porch? I have no doubt your S'mores will be s'more melted, your toasted marshmallows crispier on the outside and gooier on the inside, and your hot dogs even more blistered and burned beyond recognition. But no matter what you cook the food on, some things will always stay the same. For one, you'll still be able to spot the man of the house. He'll be the one wearing the apron that says: "My grill can kick your grill's pork butt."

Heehee~! Thanks Janis. :-) got a kick out of this. kath > Experts say Americans barbecued 2.7 billion times last year. Of course > they also said they knew where the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade was. When > something is this popular, people are always going to want the latest, greatest, > and best. <<<